Shudder To Think Biography

This under-appreciated US quartet started life as a hardcore punk band before emerging as an alt pop outfit of some note. Shudder To Think was formed in 1986 by Craig Wedren (guitar/vocals), Chris Matthews (guitar), Stuart Hill (bass), and Mike Russell (drums), and after a series of independent singles hooked up with Sammich Records to release their debut, 1989s Curse, Spells, Voodoo, Mooses. A recording contract with the hardcore label Dischord Records ensued, with a string of well-received albums culminating in the superior Get Your Goat. Nathan Larson (guitar) and Adam Wade (drums) replaced Matthews and Russell in the mid-90s, prior to the band signing a new recording contract with Epic Records. The new line-up made their major label debut with 1994s Pony Express Record, a record which married the ambition of Get Your Goat with more focused production values helping to produce the bands finest hour. Wade was subsequently replaced by Kevin March, and following an enforced hiatus during which Wedren battled Hodgkins Disease, the band returned with the overly slick 50, 000 B.C. The following year they completed the soundtracks for the movies High Art and First Love, Last Rites, on the latter recruiting various singers including Jeff Buckley, Liz Phair, John Doe, and Billy Corgan to contribute vocals. The departure of Larson in 1998 prompted Shudder To Thinks dissolution, with main songwriter Wedren moving on to a career with his new band Baby.

Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.